So SweePea had her babies yesterday. Scott and I were there for the whole thing, helping. Scott was the Midwife. I was the Assistant to the Midwife. I watched over the babies and rubbed that enormous tummy, and kept the babies pulled back in a quick jiffy if SweePea needed to move. She ended up with six in all, 2 girls and 4 boys. Somehow I managed to not get a final picture of all six.
As farm experiences go, this was probably one of the more amazing ones. Human babies are born as little blobs (super cute blobs), but they need help to do everything, for quite some time. Baby pigs are solid muscle, take about a minute to figure out how to work their legs, and then they sidle up to the mama and start nuzzling around for a nipple. Once they find one, they are good to go. They run around, tumble over one another, start wrestling immediately and start growing even bigger the moment they are born. You can see them growing with your own eyes.
In case you are wondering, they are not cuddly. I tried. I wanted to snuggle them so badly. I could touch them, but they wiggle away from humans instinctively. They are silky soft, but do not want to be held. They will squeal, and then mama gets very upset. I had to just content myself to watch them and be eyes stinging amazed at the wonder of them.
If reading you is the closest I can get to the wonders of farm life, I could do worse, I think. 🙂
Thank you for letting us be a part of something we never would have had the opportunity to outside of Country Kid Farmers. I’m calling my three into the room now so that they can read this one, too. (And pig midwife, huh? See, that’s a career I never knew I could consider.)
You are so hilarious! It was an Awesome experience. I was breathless multiple times. Imagine sitting next to someone in labor, and every time they push, you push, and somehow, you hold your breath at the same time, and there is such stillness, and such loud breathing all at the same time, and then miracles happen right before your eyes. I choke up thinking about it. Thank you for being there with me, as a reader. What fun to have you in my life!